The present invention relates to electric shavers. More particularly, though not exclusively, the invention relates to an encased, battery-operated shaver suitable for carrying from place-to-place.
Known electric shavers, be they battery-operated or mains powered are not generally suitable for day-to-day, on-the-go use. Mains powered shavers are limited to use nearby a wall socket, whereas xe2x80x9ccordlessxe2x80x9d shavers are larger and more cumbersome than would be ideal for general in-pocket carrying. Such shavers often include a perforated metallic screen or foil that must be covered for protection when the shaver is rot in use. Known clip-on covers must be removed completely from the body of the shaver and therefore must be held or placed somewhere during use and then reattached to the shaver body. Such covers are generally a design afterthought and are not well integrated with the shaver body. They are generally too clumsy and cumbersome for on-the-go electric shavers.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an encased electric shaver for use on-the-go.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electric shaver having a shaving head housed within a casing and a lid attached pivotally to the casing to conceal the shaving head when not in use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an encased electric shaver having a lid associated with a switch by which the shaver is activated.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an electric shaver having a casing within which a shaving head is concealed by a lid when not in use and wherein the shaving head is moved from a storage position to a use position upon movement of the lid.
There is disclosed herein an electric shaver comprising:
a casing,
a shaving mechanism housed within the casing,
a lid attached to the casing, and
a switch operated by movement of the lid to activate the mechanism.
Preferably the switch is operated upon movement of the shaving mechanism by the lid.
There is further disclosed herein an electric shaver comprising:
a casing,
a shaving mechanism housed within the casing and including a shaving head, the shaving mechanism being movable from a storage position to a use position wherein the shaving head protrudes from the casing, and
a switch operated by movement of the shaving mechanism to activate the mechanism.
Preferably the shaver further includes a lid that interacts with the shaving mechanism to move the shaving mechanism between the storage and use positions.
Preferably a hinge attaches the lid to the casing.
Preferably in some positions of the lid, a spring biases the lid to a closed position.
Preferably in other positions of the lid, the spring biases the lid to an intermediate position.
Preferably the spring is mounted within a spring tube that is mounted pivotally at a pivot end thereof go the casing.
Preferably the lid has a finger extending from it and engaging with the spring tube at a contact end thereof remote from the pivot end.
Preferably the spring tube is constrained within a pivot-limiting space.
Preferably the pivot-limiting space has two abutment surfaces against which the spring tube can bear.
Preferably approximately midway between the abutment surfaces, there is an imaginary line past which the spring tube pivots by movement of the lid so as to bias the lid toward one or the other of said closed position and said intermediate position.
Preferably a shaving mechanism-positioning spring biases the shaving mechanism toward the storage position when the lid has moved past said intermediate position and the switch is closed.
Preferably the shaving mechanisms-positioning spring biases the shaving mechanism toward a switch-open position.
Preferably the shaving mechanism-positioning spring is received within a cup against which a leg extending from the shaving mechanism bears.
Preferably the cup is mounted within a cup slot of the casing.
Preferably there is attached to the lid an arm, that extends into the casing and includes a pin that cooperates with a pin slot of the shaving mechanism to move the shaving mechanism.
Preferably the arm is attached pivotally to the lid by a special hinge having a free space within which an arm catch of the arm is received, the lid being pivotable throughout a range defined by the free space before engaging with the arm catch to cause pivotal movement of the arm.